SCD Meal Plan

Here’s another meal plan to get your month started. Hope it helps. And I’d love to hear about your meal plan successes in the comments below.

Breakfasts

Monday: SCD pancakes, homemade strawberry syrup, homemade SCD sausage
Tuesday: SCD yogurt, toasted nuts and fruit
Wednesday: SCD carrot pancakes with honey, homemade SCD sausage
Thursday: Eggs, bacon, cooked apples
Friday: SCD pumpkin pie

Lunches (Packed for School)

Monday: Applegate “octopus” hotdog, SCD carrot cake, fruit, peas
Tuesday: SCD salmon patties, fruit, SCD banana muffins
Wednesday: SCD Waffle Sticks, homemade SCD sausage, homemade strawberry syrup
Thursday: Applegate hotdog, homemade butternut squash fries, fruit, SCD cupcake
Friday: SCD pizza (w/provolone and meat), fruit, SCD carrot cake

Dinners

Monday: SCD eggplant parmesan, roasted Brussels sprouts
Tuesday: SCD vegetarian chili (with beef, cheese, etc. available to add in)
Wednesday: Huevos rancheros (with beef available), salad, fresh guacamole, homemade SCD salsa, etc.
Thursday: Broiled salmon, baby carrots glazed in SCD orange juice, SCD garlic toast
Friday: SCD Crockpot chicken with onions, mushrooms and carrots, homemade applesauce

Snacks

Fruit smoothies
Shrek juice (green smoothie)
Almond butter packs
SCD Trail Mix
Boiled eggs (in Bento shapes)
SCD gelatin
SCD banana, mango ice cream
SCD nut brittle
SCD carrot cake
Veggies & homemade SCD green goddess dip
Sardines & SCD crackers
Homemade SCD banana chips
SCD yogurt
SCD eggplant chips

No-fall SCD Bread

If you’ve ever made SCD bread, you know how fickle it can be. During cooking, it collapses creating an ugly slump in the middle of the loaf, and when you try to eat it, it crumbles. But, with a little extra attention in the end, you can keep it from falling apart so easily. The trick is to slow down the cooling process.

Here’s the recipe, adapted from Keri’s French Toast Bread at SCDrecipe.com:

2 ½ cups almond flour (blanched)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup homemade SCD yogurt
3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Whisk eggs by hand or mixer until blended. (This is different from the original recipe, indicated that eggs should be separated and the whites beaten until stiff. Do not separate the eggs.)
3. Add the yogurt to the eggs and stir until eggs are distributed.
4. In a separate bowl, add the baking soda, salt and almond flour together. Sift if necessary.
5. Add the apple cider vinegar to the egg mixture and stir. You should see bubbles form.
6. Dump the dry mix (baking soda, salt, almond flour) into the egg+yogurt mix and stir gently until the batter is completely moistened. Don’t overmix.
7. Pour into a loaf pan, preferably one lined with parchment paper.
8. Cook 45-55 minutes, depending on the size of the pan, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
9. Turn the oven off, but leave the pan in place.
10. Prop the oven door open a few inches to let some of the heat escape.
11. Keep the bread in the oven for 15-20 minutes (or longer) so that it cools slowly. This will help prevent the saggy middle that often plagues SCD bread. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Another trick I use is to multiply the recipe by 1.5 and make one slightly larger loaf — lined with parchment — in a large toaster oven. This small size of the oven makes it easy to prop the door, and the oven cools off slowly enough to prevent drooping, but quickly enough to prevent burning.

After I remove the bread from the oven, I let it cool completely, in the pan before lifting it out via the parchment paper, placing it on a cutting board and slicing it. Then I place each of the slices on a lined cookie sheet and freeze them until we need them. That maintains their shape, and prevents the bread from spoiling before we use it.

When we’re ready to eat it, I agree with Keri that it’s best toasted, although we usually do that in a pan with a little butter, or in the toaster oven, but again with a little butter. The fat seems to help it stick together better.

The slow-cooling trick also works with other SCD baked treats, like these muffins.

Happy Eating!

SCD Meal Planning for a New Year

Happy New Year!

Not only is it the beginning of a new week, it’s the beginning of a new year, the time when many of us vow to get into shape, eat better, stick to a schedule, . . . . You know the drill.

For the most part, I’m one of those people the FlyLady calls “born organized.” Yet, in the midst of daily life, I struggle to make sure my family eats healthfully. Given our diverse dietary needs that can be a real challenge. Like everyone else, we still struggle, but the easiest way I’ve found to facilitate healthy eating (and maintain a budget) is to make a plan and stick to it.

For instance, in November (2011) I participated in NaNoWriMo for the second time. I knew I would be devoting most of my time to writing, so in October I wrangled some help from my husband and older daughter. First, I planned out all of the meals we would need for the month, then we did some communal cooking, and finally, I packed 43 SCD meals for my younger daughter, and a month’s worth of main dishes for the family, into the freezer. Voila! Not exactly as easy as pie, but easier than cooking — and cleaning up — everyday.

So, with the new year upon us, I am revising my menu planning (and freezer cooking), all while sticking to the grocery budget, and finding food that everyone will eat.

I know how hard menu planning — especially with strict diets — can be, so I’m posting my preliminary meal plan for this week, including a brief entry for a small SCD birthday gathering. To make things easy, I’ll modify the week’s plan to fit the month.

Please note that I’ve left out some of the details about adapting the recipes for my older, vegetarian daughter, and that Applegate products are not technically SCD legal.

I hope this gives you some ideas, especially for SCD lunches and SCD birthday treats. And I’d love to hear your meal-planning goals for the new year in the comments below.

Breakfasts
Monday: SCD pumpkin custard, smoothie
Tuesday: Egg, veggie, & meat mini-frittata
Wednesday: SCD pancakes with homemade citron syrup
Thursday: Homemade SCD yogurt & grain-free “granola”
Friday: Poached eggs, bacon, SCD toast

Lunches (Packed for School)
Monday: Applegate “octopus” hotdog, SCD gingerbread cookies, fresh fruit: grapefruit, blackberries, star fruit
Tuesday: SCD salmon salad in zucchini wraps (or SCD salmon patties), fruit, SCD carrot cake
Wednesday: SCD Waffle Sticks, homemade SCD sausage, pumpkin custard
Thursday: Applegate Hotdog, cheese stick or BabyBel, fresh veggies and dip
Friday: Mini-SCD pizzas (w/provolone and meat), salad/veggies, SCD cookie

Dinners
Monday: Split Pea Soup (w/ crumbled bacon), fresh grated Parmesan
Tuesday: Chicken, roasted carrots & onions
Wednesday: Acorn squash (w/pork or homemade SCD sausage)
Thursday: Black bean soup (w/ground beef); homemade SCD yogurt, avocado, cheese
Friday: SCD salmon patties, butternut squash fries, homemade applesauce, salad

Snacks
SCD carrot pancakes
Almond butter packs
SCD Trail Mix
Boiled eggs (in Bento shapes)
SCD cookies
SCD crackers
SCD carrot cake
Veggies & homemade SCD green goddess dip
Sardines & SCD crackers
Applegate turkey & cheese roll ups
SCD pumpkin custard
Homemade SCD apple chips

SCD Birthday Treats
SCD vanilla cupcakes (w/SCD dripped cream yogurt & honey “icing”), fresh fruit decorations: star fruit, “candied” blueberries
SCD gelatin shapes (made with juice)

Cheater Bento

So technically it’s not cheating, but here’s an easy and inexpensive way to start Bento-ing for your kids without laying out big bucks, or driving to one of the large metropoleis if, like me, you live in a region lacking in Japanese food supplies. Of course you can simply order online too. Which I did. But that’s another post.

In the baby/toddler products aisle of stores like Meijer, Wal-Mart, etc., you may stumble across this cute and very useful snack box by Sassy, called the On-the-Go Feeding Set. I found mine locally for $5.99 and have been packing it full for school lunches for my younger daughter. I know it looks tiny, but following the Bento model can be loaded with calories. And since I also pack a similar container for the afternoon snack, I’m not worried that she’s eating too few calories. Honestly, since I’ve started doing this, I think she’s eating more calories. Certainly, she’s bringing home fewer mangled leftovers.

It isn’t super tight and leaks a little, but I take that into account when filling it. And there isn’t as much of a learning curve to packing it as I’ve found there is with a traditional Bento box.

If you want to check out the different styles of easily accessible Bento boxes for kids and don’t want to get your hands dirty, check out anotherlunch.com where Melissa shows pictures of the different types, and evaluates them by size, washability, etc. She even has a Sassy Box category, where you can see the Sassy lunches she’s created.

And how about you? If you’ve used one for your kids, especially for those on specialty or medical diets, I’d love to hear how it’s working.

Low-carb SCD Bento, or Where to Score a Phenomenal Menu Planner

Photo used under Creative Commons from gamene

Without whining about all of the details, I’ll tell you that I spent 17 hours this past weekend cooking. Am I crazy? Probably. But when my husband mistakenly said earlier this weekend that I was “enthusiastic” about my daughter’s diet, I had to correct him. “I’m not enthusiastic; I’m desperate.”

Those of you who have kids with behavioral and/or digestive issues know that the reward of the hard work of a successful dietary endeavor is no comparison to having a child who’s out of control, unable to attend class, or sit in a car seat, or worse yet losing weight due to malabsorption.

My daughter has been on the SCD for three years and for the first time, getting her to stay on the diet is becoming problematic now that she is in kindergarten. My heart goes out to her. I know that she wants be like other kids, but within the past few weeks she’s started getting snacks from her table mates at school, sneaking her sister’s food at home, and most embarrassingly, stealing a forbidden candy from a store while my husband was distracted paying the bill. Ouch! So much for my perfect parenting award.

I’m hoping to redeem myself, and make her life a little easier, by upping my game when it comes to the lunches and snacks she takes to school. She can be picky when it comes to food, especially in her lunch—while her friends are watching—and that in combination with the restrictions of easily transportable, ready-to-eat SCD food, led me to contemplate Bento.

Never heard of Bento? Me neither until recently. But what kid wouldn’t love supremely cute lunch boxes filled with scenes of forest animals, or comic characters—not just lunch, but art? Granted, traditional Bento foods are not SCD, gluten-free, or even low-carb, but I’m on a mission and I won’t let that stop me.

I’ve found a phenomenal Bento site, chock full of resources, including recipes, pictures (definitely the most helpful), and equally as important for thinking ahead—and for getting one’s family to stick to the plan—is a meal planner. I have been using meal planners of one sort or another for years, but this is the Holy Grail of (on paper) meal planners.

It’s a full week, with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for each day, along with extra space for notes and a shopping list, but the best part is the Bento lunch section. It is organized graphically, which means that the lunch section looks somewhat like a mini Bento box and each section is proportional to how much of that type of food: protein, carbs, vegetables, fruit/snacks, you should include in your lunch. Obviously, for the SCD Bento, one has to alter it a bit.

If you would prefer more Americanized Bento lunches for kids, check out bentolunch. The Bento photos in the masthead alone are worth the visit, but you’ll want to make sure to check out the What’s For Lunch weekly post where commenters leave pics of their cute Bento lunches.

If you have a cute SCD, gluten-free, or low-carb lunch site or picture to share, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

SCD Halloween

Holidays, for SCDers, can be a challenge.

Since Halloween is coming up, I’m brainstorming some workable SCD solutions so I don’t freak out at the last minute.

Please remember, not all of these foods will work for everyone, especially if you are new to the diet. And the small bits of dried fruit and nuts may not be suitable for especially young ones.

I’ve broken this down into two lists, the first for trick-or-treating and the second for parties, festivals, etc.

A few ideas for trick-or-treating:
Add a little extra pizzazz by using themed treat bags.

1. Non-food items such as little puzzles, mini-sticker books, individual-sized Play-doh (note: these contain wheat) etc. (Personally, I’m not a fan of small plastic toys.)
2. Boxed raisins without sugar.
3. Dried fruits without sugar: pineapple, apricots, etc.
4. Date-nut balls, baked or raw, if properly packaged (from Breaking the Vicious Cycle).
5. Clementine pumpkins (You can make really cute jack-o-lanterns by pressing fruit leather onto clementines as seen on page 78 of the print edition of October’s Family Fun magazine.)
6. Mini-pumpkins: not edible, but still fun.
7. Honey lollipops (from Breaking the Vicious Cycle; these are fickle and melt easily. And take it from me, if you tackle these, make sure your counters are level!)
8. Honey marzipan animals—or Halloween ghouls (Ditto the note above. Keep refrigerated as long as possible.)
9. Homemade nut brittle.
10. Individually packaged almond butters. Please note that I have not confirmed that these are SCD compliant, but we have used them successfully.
11. Toasted pumpkin seeds.
12. Homemade trail mix.
13. Homemade Tricolor Chips (from Recipes for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet) or Carrot Curls (from Breaking the Vicious Cycle).


14. Individual mini-sized LaraBars. (I’ve found these in boxes of 12 at Whole Foods, and Target in the vitamin section, for about $10. Definitely not frugal, but as one of the few packaged, easily transportable foods, they’re worth it.)







For other Halloween functions such as parties, festivals, pumpkin patch field trips, etc., where the treats aren’t as likely to be crushed during transportation:

1. Homemade SCD cookies in Halloween shapes, like these gingerbread skeletons. (Or the gingerbread recipe from Recipes for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.)
2. Homemade SCD meringue cookies (I’m going to try these in scary shapes.)
3. Homemade SCD brownies (from Breaking the Vicious Cycle; replace peanut butter with almond butter).
4. Homemade SCD pumpkin mini-muffins (Don’t forget the specialty liners, like these spider web cupcake wrappers and toppers. Here are some free printable cupcake picks to get you started.)
5. Glazed apple slices (peeled apple cooked in honey, cinnamon, a little butter, and nuts).
6. Pumpkin pie (I usually make a crustless version and bake it in individual ramekins.)
7. Mummy meatloaf (using SCD legal cheese instead of American).


Is this a rare time where we offer non-SCD treats to our little ghosties? That’s a personal decision based on your own child’s health, but on special occasions, I have served these prepared fruit leathers with success.

As for me, I’m on the search for a honey-based candy apple recipe. If you have one, let me know.

What about you? I’d love to hear what SCD Halloween treats you give your little goblins.

Price per Meal Calculators

Hmmm. Another dilemma, another solution.

My husband’s chemistry lab is wrapping up for the semester and he wanted to bring a meal they could all share. Since like many of you, we’re on a budget, we finally came up with a nutritious solution that fit the dietary requirements of all of the students as well as the ease-of-preparation stipulation that this meal will be cooked on-site in a crockpot.

After we found a recipe that would work, I thought “Hmm, wouldn’t it be nice to find a website that calculated cost per meal or cost per serving of recipes for you.”

This is what I found: A USDA recipe finder database originally designed for nutrition educators serving families who receive food assistance. Although it has its limitations, it’s searchability appeals to me. For instance, you can search by ingredients, recipe name, nutrition education goal, menu category, intended audience, available cooking equipment and price per meal or per serving. Not too shabby!

On the recipe pages themselves, I noted a few more perks: You can read the recipe in Spanish, print it in multiple sizes, view the nutrition facts, and even add the ingredients to a shopping list. Yes, I know; these functions are also available on mainstream menu sites, such as my favorite, allrecipes, which admittedly has thousands more recipes available. But they don’t have price per serving options or easily searchable health options.

Just to try it out, I selected two criteria: Main Dish recipes, and chose $1.00 for the Cost Less Than $X per Serving category. The database returned 137 recipes. A quick glance told me that their idea of ‘main dish’ was a little broad, but it’s a good starting point to brainstorm ideas for inexpensive meals.

Now, I can’t vouch for how tasty the recipes are, but since I always tweak recipes anyway, I don’t see that as a major hindrance. Check it out and let me know what recipes worked for you.

By the way, I did find a cost calculator for servings of meat, but no other general calculators. Of course, you could just do it the old fashioned way—math.

If you know of any meal cost calculators, I would love to hear about them.

Nobody Loves You Like Your Mom

Mother’s Day is here—almost. It’s not too late to wow Mom with your thoughtfulness (if not your preparedness).

Thankfully, now that the economy has tanked it’s en vogue to be cheap, so you no longer have to feel guilty about saving a little cash while waxing sentimental. And if you want to know a little secret, moms really do like homemade gifts better. They’re the gifts we remember and treasure.

This year, I’m asking for the Mother’s Day gift that keeps on giving—at least for a week: five dinners prepared and put into the freezer so that I don’t have as much cooking to stress out about. Cross your fingers and hope that I get it.

What about you? What’s on your most-wanted Mom’s Day list? Or what great surprise do you have in store for your mom?

Searching for “Frugal Mother’s Day” on Google yields plenty of worthwhile tips, but here is a list of frugal Mother’s Day ideas to get you started. Or if you’re completely out of time, and your mom has email, send her a hip Mother’s Day e-card.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to thank your mom, even if you’re not on the best of terms. Both my mother and my husband’s mother have passed away. The best gift for us would be to have another opportunity to tell them how much they meant to us.

More Fabulous, Frugal Valentine’s Fun

I hope you’ve been either lavishing your Valentine with kind words and treats already, or that you’re gearing up for the big finale.

Here are a few more ideas, so no excuses ☺.

Food:
If you’re devising a themed Valentine’s make sure to include theme-related foods.

Prepare a special meal or make his favorite cookies or buy her favorite ice cream.

Get up early and prepare breakfast. Have a favorite comic strip ready to read.

Take a picnic lunch to your love. Bonus points if you use a real picnic basket and checkered tablecloth. (I know it’s winter for most of us, so get creative with an indoor setting.)

Visit a gourmet candy or ice cream shop and share a decadent treat.

Give a food-of-the-month club. Last year for Valentine’s Day, I gave dh a membership in the dessert-of-the-month club. Each month during the year I make one of his favorite sweet treats. Obviously, this works for any of your Valentine’s favorite foods.

Wrap yourself up in printable custom candy bar wrappers.

Entertainment:
If a themed event is on your agenda, rent, or borrow from the library or a friend, a related movie. But make sure the movie isn’t the main event; it should support the fantasy, not eclipse it.

If it’s an option, take the day off work. Do something unexpected like going to the movies in the middle of the day while the kids are at school.

Give an unexpected book or magazine from Half-Price Books or used a bookstore. Is there something that your partner has always wanted to do, but never has? Look for a magazine about it.

If you have access to a computer and any of the extensive media programs available make the new version of a mix tape: a slide show or video of you and your Valentine set to your favorite music.

Create a mock newspaper or magazine to celebrate your love. This is easiest using a computer, but can be done the old-fashioned way—by hand. Include articles about the great things your love has done, or would like to do. Put their picture on the cover of the magazine.

Buy or barter tickets to the theatre, concert, or favorite sporting event.

Just Fun:
Do something completely unexpected.

Be playful.

Schedule a “date,” alone, without your children, even if you stay home.

Go camping, or camp in the living room. Set up a tent. Play a CD of nature sounds or a rain storm.

Draw your Valentine a bubble bath or steam bath. Set the bathroom up like a spa with fluffy towels, candles, oils and soothing music.

Playfully become your partner’s favorite movie star—or rock star—or movie star. Use your imagination!

Hide kiddie Valentine’s everywhere. (My husband did this for me years ago at my office, and it’s still my favorite Valentine’s memory.)

Read a romantic book out loud to each other (even if you have to pretend to be Edward ;).

Create a custom crossword puzzle.

Design a scavenger hunt for your partner. This can be as simple or complicated as you’d like including multiple locations, props, even clothing.

Trade homes with a friend for the weekend to spice things up. Not being at home, you won’t be compelled to cook and clean.

Heat his or her towels while he or she is in the shower.

Buy a lottery ticket; attach a corny note.

Gifts with Meaning:
Write an “I love you when” letter. (I wrote one for dh a few years ago. Each sentence began “I love you in January when you . . . , I love you in February when you . . . ,” etc.)

Send a thank you note to his or her workplace or home, thanking him or her for being part of your life. Be specific.

Complete a task your partner is dreading: clean his or her car, clean the garage, file that mound of paperwork.

Commit to couple time: turn off the phone, cell, blackberry, computer, TV, etc. No interruptions.

Frame a sentimental or long-lost photo from your partner’s past. Or frame his or her doctoral diploma.

Write a love letter, poem or a song. (Bonus points if you play an instrument.) Make it specific. Poetry may sound cliché, but there are reasons classic love poems are still published. Write a note in a foreign language—or in code—and challenge your partner to decipher it.

Give a symbol of a shared experience, a memento that has significance to both you.

Celebrate a “first.” Focus on a special first in your relationship and remember or recreate it: first date, first kiss, the day you met, etc.

Make a gift certificate or coupon book for something your partner loves. Make sure you can and will honor it; this is the biggest risk with offering your time, following through on the commitment.

If you’re still stalling, here are a few more frugal Valentine's tips.

Fabulous, Frugal Valentine’s Fun: Day 1

Yep, it’s almost that time of the year, the oft-dreaded Valentine’s Day. But this year you have a new mantra, “No fear.”

In honor of my sweet husband, who many years ago gave me a gift on each of the first 14 days of February, I’m sharing with you fun, frugal, fabulous Valentine’s Day ideas. I hope that you’ll treat your partner to some of these ideas for the next 14 days.

I love themed celebrations. Just ask my girlfriends who attended my big four-oh last weekend ☺. Even Valentine’s Day, probably the most clichéd of holidays, lends itself to themed success. I’m sure I’ve told you this story before, but in case you missed it: a few years ago, I limited my husband and myself to $10 each for Valentine’s Day. I’m embarrassed to tell you the true story, but since we’re BFFs, I’ll fess up. We are both fans of LOST, so I created a themed scavenger hunt that included items such as a plane ticket for Oceanic 815, which I made on the computer, a real lottery ticket with Hurley’s numbers, a map of the island, a Dharma Station insignia, etc. The final stop on the scavenger hunt was our family room, which I had converted into a tropical paradise. I moved the furniture back, put down a newly purchased shower curtain (about $3 of my $10), poured play sand—the kind you buy for your kids’ sandboxes—on the floor, added some pineapples and mangoes, along with a rented copy of that season’s LOST and voilà, successful themed Valentine’s Day. Better than the typical dinner out, and no babysitter required.

So, put your thinking caps on and get started.

Here are the guidelines:

1. Pick a theme
2. Feed an obsession: sports team, poker, Twilight, scrapbooking, hiking, music, reading, intimacy, computers, etc.
3. Follow it through for each of the days, culminating with a big bang on Valentine’s Day
4. Explore each of the five senses.
5. Don’t wait for perfection. Enjoy today.

Here are a few easy ideas to get started. Don’t blow them off because they seem too simple. Although I haven’t included specific examples, keep your theme in mind.

First, treat yourself well. Each of the 14 days isn’t about you or about him; it’s about the two of you together, your partnership. Make an extra effort each day for the next two weeks to go the extra mile. If you stay at home, that may mean dressing a little nicer and doing your hair. If you work outside the home that may mean coming home a little early to be there to greet him. (And I’m just as much a feminist as you are; now is the time to enjoy your female power.) You’ll both benefit. Believe me.

Be kind, respectful, and attentive upon each departure and arrival. Look into your partner’s eyes. Kiss goodbye and hello. So few couples still do this.

Be chivalrous: (for men) open the car door, hold her chair out, carry packages, help her on with her coat, hold hands, tip your hat, (watch a vintage romantic movie)

Compliment your partner every day; tell him something you think, but never say out loud. Complimenting him in front of others is especially empowering for both of you.

Let go of unrealistic standards. Whatever it is about your partner that you don’t like, forget about it just for today. Imagine them as the perfection you envision—and treat them that way.

Leave a Post-it note on the bathroom mirror every morning detailing one thing you love about your partner.

Leave me a comment and let me know what inspired themes you've come up with!

The Art of Letter Writing

A number of years ago, someone important to me was killed in Iraq. That experience, in combination with a discussion during my women’s writing group tonight about the art of letter writing, led me to write a letter that will be delivered by Operation PAL, a group of dedicated volunteers who organize letters for injured marines.

In this time of economic hardship and increased stress, it is easy to focus on oneself, to forget that our humanity stems from its interconnectedness, that in essence we are all one. If one hurts, we all hurt. Yet we can ease this pain by stepping out of our safe selves if only momentarily to share—through words—compassion, empathy, joy.

Forget email just this once, and reach out to someone you love—or someone you don’t know—and write a letter. It doesn’t have to be eloquent, only from the heart. Stumped? This letter-writing site offers writing inspiration, famous letters, letter projects, journals, letter-related art, letter-writing history, etiquette, hints, and more.

Who did you write today?

Back to Basics: SCD Apple Butter

I love my 1986 copy of the book Stocking Up III: The All-New Edition of America’s Classic Preserving Guide. I appreciate the simplicity of the recipes, many of which are SCD legal, for their fundamental ingredients and back-to-basic techniques.

I adapted the Stocking Up apple cider and apple butter recipes for the final product below, which I have to say, we all thought was pretty tasty. And any recipe that we can all eat—and like—is a winner in my book.

Here is the list of ingredients for apple butter, from page 269 of the book:

3 cups of apple cider
5 pounds of apples, unpeeled and uncored, sliced thin
honey to taste
ground cinnamon, to taste
ground allspice, to taste
ground cloves, to taste

I know the list of ingredients is vague, but it does allow you to modify the recipe, which is helpful especially since personal preference for spices can vary greatly.

Although I used the list of ingredients listed above, for SCD reasons I peeled and cored the apples. Then, instead of using a large enamel pot, I cooked the apples in the crock pot.


I did not have any apple cider so I used the recipe from pages 292 through 294 of the book. I was thrilled to find that using the Vita Mix was a suitable way to make apple juice as evidenced by the picture of an older model on page 292. Since no volumes or masses are listed for how many apples to use, I just winged it until I got 3 cups of juice.


Following the instructions on page 293 and illustration on 294 I made the juice by first pureeing the peeled apples in the Vita Mix.

Then I strained the puree through a muslin bag,

reserving the juice for the apple butter recipe.

By the way, I saved the puree, which we later ate with potato latkes. However, the taste was quite concentrated and the puree probably would have been better in cake or muffins.

At this point, the five pounds of cored, peeled, and sliced apples were already cooking in the crock pot. I added the three cups of juice, a half-cup of honey, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a half-teaspoon of allspice, and a half-teaspoon of cloves. Later, after many hours of cooking, I tasted the mixture and added more spices.

Initially, I cooked the apples on high until they softened, remembering to leave the lid ajar to allow the liquid to evaporate. Before I went to bed, I set the crock pot to low (8-10 hours). This was a little risky. First thing in the morning, I thought I had ruined the whole batch because the edges were very dark. However, it tasted delicious and we enjoyed it on regular and SCD pancakes right away.
I stored the rest of it in half-pint jars in the freezer since there was not really enough to can. The Stocking Up recipe lists the yield as four half-pints, which is probably accurate if you don’t add any honey. After eating some with breakfast, we had four jars left to store.

What apple recipes are you cooking up this fall?

Necessity is the Mother of Invention: Tires

Well, or at least “want” is the mother of invention. In my never-ending quest to find everything a little more economically, yesterday evening I was researching how to make attractive garden edging that actually works! I have edged one of my combined food/ornamental garden beds four times since the spring, and between you and I, I am done with that. However, I can not stand my yard looking unkempt. So, while I have not yet decided on a solution, I still wanted to share with you an interesting site I found where a myriad of items are made from tires. Yeah, if you’re like me you’re thinking, tires? I would NEVER put those in my yard. Well, that may be the case for both of us, but then again, maybe not. Check out the site and let me know if anything piques your interest.

Even if the tire’s aesthetics aren’t consistent with our garden vision, it’s comforting to know that at least some tires are being rescued from the land fill. I realize that tire safety may be an issue, so if you are concerned about the potential for chemical leaching, make sure to thoroughly research that topic before using them.

If you happen to have old tires lying around and you would like to give them new life, check out these great tire recycling ideas or try making one of those cute horse tire swings yourself. Personally, I think I’ll try to coerce my husband into making one of the other fun swings. Check out the motorcycle, elephant, T-rex, reindeer, dragon, shark, and longhorn swings.

And if you have any great ideas for attractive, durable, and frugal garden edging, please let me know!

Apples—Take Advantage of the Season

In our neck of the woods, apples have just started coming into season. Since our family is working more toward eating in-season foods, and away from buying foods when they’re not in season, we stock up on produce whenever we can.

Whether you grow them, pick them yourself, or buy them from the orchard, local farmers market, produce stand, or store, it’s more economical and healthier to buy apples in the fall and store them.

The storage options are almost endless, but here are some ideas to get you going:

1. Buy “keeper” apples for long-term storage. We did this last year with Arkansas blacks
2. Can them
3. Freeze them; dry packing allows you to freeze them without sugar or syrup
4. Dry them
5. Make apple juice or apple cider, then freeze
6. Make applesauce, then can or freeze
7. Make apple chutney, apple jelly or apple butter
8. Make pie or pie filling (in the shape of the pie) and freeze or can
9. Make muffins, cakes, etc. to freeze.

If you have healthy, and especially SCD-friendly ideas for apple recipes, I’d love to hear them!

Frugal Fun: Low- or no-cost social gatherings

In a recent post I mentioned low- or no-cost social gatherings as being the most fun. It’s kind of like dating on a budget. It really stretches your imagination!

As a couple with young children, one of the greatest expenses of getting together with other couples is childcare. When our neighbors moved in last year, we found the perfect solution. First, you know how rare it is to find that special family in which the husbands get along, the wives get along and even the children get along. That in itself was a blessing, but the best part was that we devised frequent low-cost adult evenings. After the kids are in bed, we bring our monitors, food, and tasty beverages out to our patio to sit around the fire and chat. We can still hear the kids and reach them quickly if needed, but it’s so relaxing and enjoyable, it feels like going out—only we get to dress more casually. Our neighbor is a real music buff and brings great music for us to enjoy. My husband builds a beautiful fire, and each family contributes snacks and drinks. It’s almost heaven. And no one has to drive home :)

Looking for frugal activities? Check out Romance on a Shoestring and a slew of articles on budget-friendly kids’ activites.

And if you’re feeling adventurous, why not share your favorite frugal functions in a comment below?

Could you do it: A year without shopping?

The September 2009 issue of Good Housekeeping features an article entitled “Our Year Without Shopping.” While it’s not the first social/financial experiment I’ve seen along these lines, especially with the relatively recent downturn in the economy, like the others it made me ask myself, “Could I do it?”

Since my husband and I embarked on our Get Out of Debt/Do Not Pass Go adventure a few years ago, we have occasionally struggled to evaluate whether a purchase is necessary or not. For the most part we’ve made do with what we’ve had, like recently when I really wanted to buy new dining room chairs because ours were falling apart. I was soooo close to doing it, and then guilt got the better of me. While I was in the store looking, I remember calculating how much money could be contributed to a college fund instead (or to pay off that dratted medical school loan). In the end, I repainted the chairs and recovered the cushions with fabric I already had. Are they perfect? No, far from it. And their more modern lines don’t exactly work with the antique table I inherited. However, I feel a sense of empowerment instead of guilt every time I see them. And I know that if it’s important enough to me, I will soon be able to make purchases without guilt (hopefully; guilt is hard to release, isn’t it:).

In all honesty, though, what I’ve learned since I’ve dramatically reduced my shopping is that, like the author of “Our Year Without Shopping,” I don’t miss the “stuff.” I have significantly more time, and especially energy, to participate in life in more meaningful ways.

Growing up, we had very little and I remember often feeling embarrassed about most aspects of our life. When I got older I over compensated for many years, but then learned that the stress associated with too much stuff (and too little money resulting from buying too much stuff) wasn’t worth it. I didn’t want to be consumed by the materialism I felt was negatively influencing my life.

Now, after years of living frugally and being on the “fringe,” it’s interesting and ironic to me that frugality is now in vogue. I’m thankful for that and hope that our collective focus on saving instead of spending will help us once again focus on community and interpersonal relationships. That’s the silver lining of economic downturn. Maybe we can even renew the idea of no/low-cost social gatherings. Those are the most fun. Sounds like a post for next time.

Slow-cooked Savings

Although the next installment of the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover isn’t quite ready, here are a few workable ideas from Oprah.com to add to your grocery budget arsenal.

I’ve utilized all of these ideas at one time or another and I have to say that using a slow cooker is my personal favorite, not only because it’s cheap and healthy, but because it’s a huge time saver. I feel most productive on the days when I get dinner going in the Crock Pot as soon as breakfast is over. And don’t forget, you can even use the Crock Pot for breakfast.

What are your favorite slow cooker recipes? I would especially love to hear any you have for overnight vegetarian breakfasts.

Success

Success comes in all shapes and sizes, and as I’ve gotten older (yeah, I hate that) I’ve realized that my definition of success has changed, sometimes willingly, sometimes not. Since I’ve had children, and especially since I’ve terminated my professional identity outside the home, I’ve come to recognize that success can be measured in teaspoons instead of cupfuls, and when that’s the case, it tastes so much sweeter.

In thinking about honoring the successes of my friends, I wanted to share something with you. Earlier this week, a gaggle of women I know gathered to celebrate the success of my friend Katie. If it doesn’t offend her, I’ll say that she’s celebrating the teaspoon kind of success, the kind that often may not be recognized by those who haven’t experienced it.

Katie is the most resourceful woman I know. Nothing stops her. Need to weed the garden and don’t want to use a power tools? No problem, just make a human-powered bike-frame cultivator. Oven on the fritz and need to bake? No biggie, construct—from household items—a solar oven. Want to create additional income so that you can stay home to homeschool your children? Piece of cake; just work your you-know-what off to create additional income streams so that teaspoon full by teaspoon full you fill your cup.

Even if she wasn’t my friend—and say, I’d just read about her online—I’d still love her, because not only does she embody the characteristics that I respect (and want to cultivate in myself), but she never sits around and whines or makes excuses.

We can all learn from Katie, and the millions of other women like her who are standing up in the face of challenge, economic and otherwise. Let’s join together to share ideas and encouragement. Focus on your successes—and let me know about them!

Don't buy stuff you cannot afford: Vintage SNL

Before I get to the nitty gritty of today’s post, let me apologize for having fallen off the blogging bandwagon. The combination of summer schedules, gardening, health concerns, and an upcoming return to homeschooling has hijacked my time. Sorry. I have more installments of the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover in store for you—as soon as I can get to them.

Until then, I thought a little vintage Steve Martin at SNL might be in order.



For a real-life advice on eradicating debt and increasing savings, see “Getting out of Debt,” at the Dollar Stretcher.

Homemade Science

Chemistry in Action: Gloop

The following article was written by my 10-year-old daughter, Sofia.

Hello! This is Sofia. Today my sister and I made a cool experiment—Gloop! It’s made of borax, glue, and water. We mixed it up outside and spent the next half-hour playing with it. I even made a Gloop bracelet!

The Gloop is stretchy and kind of sticky. Adding more borax makes it less sticky. It was white, but I bet adding food coloring could have changed that. After you knead it for a while, it becomes very easy to mold and acts kind of like stretchy, gloopy clay. It also is considered a “non-Newtonian fluid,” which means that it has characteristics of both solids and liquids.

Eliana likes it because, quote, “It’s sticky and fun. And you put it in a bag and play with it tomorrow.” I’m not actually sure how well it keeps, but I guess we’ll find out!

If you want to have your own Gloopy fun, here’s the recipe for Gloop:

Ingredients
Borax
Water
White glue

Instructions
1. Mix one teaspoon borax with 1/3 cup warm water in a bowl. Stir well.
2. Mix 1/6 cup white glue with 1/6 cup water in a different bowl. Stir well.
3. Mix the borax solution into the glue. Less borax makes a stickier Gloop. When the Gloop gets thick, knead it with your hands.
4. Play with the Gloop!
5. FOR SAFETY: Do not eat the Gloop. Throw it away in the trash, not the sink, or it will clog the drain.




Enjoy your Gloop!

We got this recipe from the book “Totally Gross Chemistry” by The Creative Activity Kit.

Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part XIII

Level 3: Super Saver

Ask Yourself: Do we throw away too much food?

According to foodnavigator-usa, University of Arizona anthropologist Dr. Timothy Jones’ research on food waste revealed:

“On average, households waste 14 percent of their food purchases. Fifteen percent of that included products still within their expiration date but never opened. Jones estimates an average family of four currently tosses out $590 per year, just in meat, fruits, vegetables, and grain products.”

That same study from the University of Arizona in Tucson “indicates that 40 to 50 percent of all food ready for harvest never gets eaten.”

Hear Jones’ personal suggestions for saving food—and saving money—for yourself at NPR.

Does your family waste almost $600 of food each year? You may surprise yourself by calculating the cost of food you throw away. And like before, I ask: what else could you do with $600? Make a car payment? A credit card payment or two? Start a college fund? Take a mini-vacation?

A little planning is all it takes. What will you do to waste less food—and change your family tree?

Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Motivation

If you’re a parent who has taken Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, you’ll remember when he talks about what you would be willing to do if your child had a curable disease that required you to raise thousands of dollars in a short period of time. Without hesitation, I bet every parent in the conference facility—or watching Dave on video—was on board. I know I was. And I still get teary every time I see that lesson.

He’s right, of course. As parents we would go to the ends of the earth to save our children medically. Why is it then that we cut off our noses to spite our faces when it comes to saving them financially? Why is it that desperation must be upon us before we are willing to “change our family tree,” as Dave says?

Of course none of this is intentional. When we’re too tired to cook and choose to go out to eat instead of fund our children’s college education—or our own retirement funds—we’re not intentionally sabotaging our family’s future. We’re simply in self-preservation mode: “I’m really tired; I’ve worked all day. I deserve a meal that I don’t have to cook—or clean up after.” Dave, of course, is much harsher than (I hope) I am and counters that with “No, you don’t!”

I won’t go that far. I know how you feel, and you do deserve some time off, someone to pamper you for a change, a meal you don’t have to cook—or clean up after. But you also deserve a life of financial stability, or Financial Peace as Dave calls it, where you and your partner don’t fight about money; where your kids can go to the movies and you don’t have to take that money out of the grocery budget; where you can take a paid-for vacation; or where you can choose to leave a J-O-B you don’t like to pursue your dream.

That’s what this series, The Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover, is about. It’s not about saving a little money on your grocery bill. It’s about changing your life. Initially, of course, it was about changing my life, my family’s life :). And it has. Making a few small changes over time have added up to a new way of life and hope for the future. As corny as that sounds, it’s true.

I don’t think my husband will mind if I tell you that before we implemented the new budget, complete with monthly budget meetings, we fought about money a lot. He had no true understanding of how much it cost to run a household, and I thought I “deserved” a few new things for the house and kids every month. Simply making a plan—together—and sticking to it has allowed us to move forward financially, and closer as a couple.

Do we still have medical school and graduate school debt? You betcha. That’s a mistake I’ll be living with for a few more years. But now, instead of feeling consumed and disemboweled by the debt (sorry for the graphic description, but that is how I felt), I feel empowered. Not only are we systematically, and successfully, paying it off, but for the first time in our lives I feel like we’re LIVING; that our future is hopeful; that we will be able to fund our retirement, our children’s educations, and maybe even vacations :).



The money I’ve saved by developing and implementing The Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover has changed our lives. The next question is: Will you let it change yours?

Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part XII

Level 2: Dollar Diva

Ask Yourself:
The questions that we will be asking ourselves throughout the Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover are what I call the Hard Questions. They may not be fun to answer, but they’re necessary if we are to be honest with ourselves, improve our family’s health, and save money.

Here’s the question: Do we eat out too much?

Do you know what percentage of your income you spend at restaurants or other quick stops, such as coffee shops, convenience stores, at movies or sporting events, or at snack machines, etc.?

Think there’s not much difference in the cost of eating at home versus eating out? Check out The High Cost of Eating Out and The Cost of Eating Out vs. Making Meals.

Between you and I, now that I rarely eat out (for budget and health reasons), when I do, the food is never as good as I remember. Honestly. I don’t miss it like I thought I would. What I do miss is someone else cleaning up the kitchen!

Our Anniversary

In my earlier days I certainly never saw myself as someone old enough to have been married to the same person for 13 years—and never did I see myself as someone old enough to be fighting off gray hair—but that’s a post for another day. Officially, my husband and I have been together for 17 years, 13 of those as husband and wife. Like all couples, we’ve had our share of challenges, but here we are, even stronger and more in love than when we met at 22.

Having given up (most) of my sense of entitlement :) I am happy to say that the anniversaries (and Valentine’s Days, and birthdays) that I remember most are the ones that cost little to nothing, but were rich in creativity and commitment, like this long-ago Valentine’s Day: My husband snuck into the publishing company where I worked before I got there. On my desk he placed a beautiful bouquet of paper flowers that he spent hours crafting (after I forbid him from spending money on real flowers) in a vase of sweet tarts. Certainly that was sweet, but what had all of my female co-workers swooning was that he hid an entire box of kiddie valentines, personalized with witty and romantic comments, all over the office where I was surprised by them for months to come.

Later, on our first wedding anniversary I requested that each of us write a letter to the other spouse and put it into a box, a time capsule of sorts, which we wouldn’t open until our 10th anniversary. Most of the years since the first, we’ve added letters, and since the 10th year have been reading the earlier ones. Sometimes it’s fun; sometimes it’s painful. Yet, it’s always interesting to see where on life’s journey we were on the day of our anniversary.

This year, although we will have a rare date alone outside of the house, I know that one of my favorite memories will be the roses that are in bloom near my back patio, a memory of Chapel Hill and our early relationship. When we moved from NC, we transplanted it states away at our new home, where it continues to surprise us with its strength and vigor. This year, as you can see from the picture, it is blooming on my anniversary, a memory I will treasure when I no longer remember what “gift” I received. (Thanks to my friend, Michael, for rescuing me from my own bad photography.)

And in my earlier days I certainly never knew that love could grow so much stronger, and the tangibles of life so much less significant. Making memories and building relationships is ultimately more important than any gift I could receive.

So, on this anniversary I will tell you that I love looking for romantic frugal ideas any time of the year and hope that you find some inspiration for your anniversary from the most intriguing frugal anniversary idea I have seen yet, or from these 10 frugal anniversary ideas.

Grocery Budget Extreme Makeover Part XI

Level 2: Dollar Diva

Shop Wisely
Decrease the number of trips you make to the store—any store. This will decrease your exposure to “wants” thereby decreasing impulse purchases. Really, it works! Not to mention, it is good for the environment. Think about how many ways this reduces your carbon footprint. It also decreases wear and tear on your vehicle, and how much you spend on gas. Calculate how much cutting out two or three extra trips saves you in gasoline expenses.

To make this calculation, multiply the price per gallon of gas by the number of miles driven roundtrip. Then divide that answer by the miles per gallon your vehicle gets. Or check out this online fuel-cost calculator that does the work for you, or this road trip calculator for long trips between specific cities.

For instance, gas at $3.50 per gallon multiplied by 30 miles roundtrip, and then divided by 20 mpg. fuel efficiency equals $5.25 per trip. That may not seem like much, but how many trips do you make in a month? And what could you purchase, pay down, or even earn through investment, instead? Even if you saved—and invested—only that $21 per month at 8% for 25 years, you’d have almost $20,000. Don’t believe me? See how much you can earn.

Here’s where to calculate how much more quickly you could pay off your car. And here is my favorite calculator site for mortgage, credit card, student loan, and other financial decisions.

Remember, the above example takes into account only the savings generated by decreasing your gasoline costs. Think about how much less money you probably spend on impulse purchases at the store, or food to eat while you’re out shopping.

How, specifically, could you improve your financial situation by decreasing the number of shopping trips per month? Take the challenge and let me know.